Ever wonder how Jakarta stacks up against other major cities around
the world for quality of life? Wonder no more ...

World-wide quality of life survey

N. America has the two cleanest cities in world; Mexico City is most
polluted; In EU, Helsinki is cleanest capital, while Athens and London
score lowest

Top place for overall quality of life is Zurich, followed by Vienna
and Vancouver

A new survey by William M. Mercer has identified that Canada and
the US have the cleanest two cities in the world. Calgary scores
highest with an environmental rating of 166, followed by Honolulu, which scores
161.5. The Finnish capital Helsinki and Katsuyama in Japan share joint
third place with a score of 158. Two other North American cities, Ottawa and
Minneapolis, share joint fifth place in the list with a rating of 154.

Scores are based on the level of air pollution and the efficiency
of waste disposal and sewage systems. Cities are ranked against New
York as the base city, which scores 100. The analysis is part of a world-wide
quality of life survey covering 215 cities.

"All the top cities score highly on quality of air. They don't
suffer the pollution associated with many industrialised cities, usually caused
by car and factory emissions. The cities that have the edge, however, are those
that have the infrastructure to deal with sewage and waste removal efficiently,"
said Slagin Parakatil, Senior Researcher at Mercer.

The world's lowest ranking city for environmental cleanliness
is Mexico City, which scores just 29.5. The city suffers particularly badly
from air pollution because of its geographical location - between two volcanoes
on a high central plateau. The fumes emanating from traffic and manufacturing
plants become trapped in this "pocket."

North America

Thirteen of the world's top 30 cleanest cities are in North
America, mainly due to their expanse and general lack of congestion. These include
Calgary (166), Honolulu (161.5), Ottawa, and Minneapolis (both 154), which
feature in the top six, together with Montreal, Vancouver, Atlanta, Boston, Lexington, Pittsburgh, Portland, Washington DC, and Winston-Salem, which
all score 145.5 and share 17th position.

At the same time, the US has a number of cities with low scores
for cleanliness. Air pollution is a concern in some locations,
as is the ineffective disposal of waste. The lowest ranked city in the US is New
York at position 128, with a score of 100. Other low-scoring cities include
Los Angeles (115.5), Detroit (123), Miami, Houston, and Chicago (which
all score 126.5).

Europe

Following Helsinki in third position (158), Oslo, Stockholm
and Zurich share tenth place for cleanliness, scoring 149.5. Bern, Copenhagen,
Geneva, and Nurnberg all rank highly with a score of 145.5.

In contrast, other Western European cities appear much lower
on the list, such as Paris, Rome, and London, ranked 84 (score 120), 98
(112.5), and 102 (109.5) in the world respectively. Mr Parakatil commented: "These are sprawling cities with public transport problems and severe
traffic congestion - producing a detrimental effect on air quality. Waste disposal
systems are also under pressure from the cities' dense populations, making
them less efficient
than in other EU cities."

The lowest-scoring city in Western Europe is Athens (64.5),
ranked in position 196. Air pollution has been identified as causing
respiratory illnesses, and restrictions have been imposed on car use to alleviate
the problem. Eastern European cities continue to appear lower in the rankings
- including Belgrade (which scores 53), Moscow, 71, Bucharest (92.5),
and Warsaw (103).

Rankings for overall quality of life

Mercer's overall quality of life survey has revealed Zurich
as the world's city ;with the best quality of life, with 106.5 points. Last year's
top scoring city, Vancouver, slips to joint second place with Vienna, with a
rating of 106 points.

Cities in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand continue to dominate
the top of the table with Sydney and Geneva sharing joint fourth place
with 105.5 points, and Auckland, Frankfurt, Copenhagen, and Helsinki being ranked
sixth, scoring 105.

The analysis was based on an evaluation of 39 quality of life
criteria for each city including political, social, economic, and environmental
factors; personal safety and health; education; transport; and other public
services. The survey was conducted to assist multinational companies in assessing
international hardship allowances for their expatriate workers.

The world's least appealing city remains Brazzaville in Congo,
despite its score at the bottom of the table rising by one point from
last year to 27.5. Other poor-scoring cities for overall quality of life include
Bangui in the Central African Republic (29), Khartoum in Sudan (31.5), and Pointe
Noire in Congo (32.5).

Mr Parakatil commented: "Though the world's living standards have
risen slightly since last year, the gap between the cities at the top
and bottom of the table is still large. The basic comforts of life, hygiene,
and personal safety are the main differentiators, and these are often lacking in
the developing countries. The gap is magnified by economic and political instability."

William M. Mercer is one of the world's largest human resources consultancies,
with some 12,500 employees in more than 135 cities in 34 countries.